Puerto Peñasco Convention and Visitors Bureau
The Astoria cruise ship of Cruise & Maritime Voyages represented a watershed moment for tourism in Sonora and across the region, putting Puerto Peñasco and the Sea of Cortez on the international map.
The “Treasures of the Sea of Cortez” cruise on the MV Astoria, a dream transformed into reality, wrapped up its three-cruise season after offering over 1200 passengers the opportunity to discover wonders guarded by the Sea of Cortez along eight ports of Sonora, Sinaloa and Baja California Sur.
This journey across the Sea of Cortez was a clear example of the strength Puerto Peñasco has as a departure and return port, representing a tremendous opportunity to show the world the natural beauty and varied locations to explore the riches of the Sea of Cortez.
This first season of Cruise & Maritime Voyages in the Sea of Cortez aboard the Astoria offered three, eleven-day journeys on a route that visited Puerto Peñasco, Topolobampo, Mazatlán, Cabo San Lucas, La Paz, Loreto, Santa Rosalía, and Guaymas, allowing Puerto Peñasco to carve its name in the Cruise History Book as the first Mexican port to be the origin and end destination for this type of journey.
The “Treasures of the Sea of Cortez” cruise attracted several travelers from various states of the US, as well as many from Canada, Australia, England, and Mexico. It brought a significant amount of revenue to the area, representing over 190 million pesos for the region as a whole and the promotion of Puerto Peñasco across the globe!
According to information shared by John Dennis, Vice President of Cruise & Maritime Voyages, this great step forward in cruise ship tourism for the region brought with it negotiations to bring in an even larger ship, with a higher passenger capacity, and even different routes.
The president of the Puerto Peñasco Convention & Visitors Bureau, Héctor Vázquez del Mercado, highlighted this first voyage along Mexican coasts of the Sea of Cortez shows the federal government the importance of strengthening this tourism zone through investment and continuance of the Home Port project, along with establishing flights to and from our city. These projects would not only benefit Puerto Peñasco, but rather the entire region as a whole.
